Boston Archdiocese Settles Abuse Cases for $85 MillionLess than six weeks after becoming head of the Archdiocese of Boston, Archbishop Sean P. O’Malley, O.F.M., has made the largest financial settlement in U.S. church history with hundreds of victims of sexual abuse by Boston priests. The sett

Jerusalem’s Christian Churches Denounce Israeli-Built WallThe Israeli-built wall separating Israel and the Palestinian territories constitutes a grave obstacle to peace in the Middle East, said the heads of Christian churches in Jerusalem. For both nations, the wall will result in a feeling of

Conservatives to Meet With Bishops on Sex Abuse CrisisSeveral leading U.S. bishops are expected to attend a discussion forum with self-styled conservative Catholic voices on the clergy sexual abuse crisis on Sept. 8 in Washington, D.C. We should be talking about the 25-year legacy of our pope and ho

Pope Deplores Bombings in Iraq, Jerusalem, Urges End to ViolencePope John Paul II deplored deadly bombings in Iraq and Jerusalem and urged steps to end the new spiral of violence in the Middle East. The pope spoke at a general audience on Aug. 20, a day after a U.N. headquarters in Baghdad, Iraq, wa

Vatican Says Same-Sex Unions Are Harmful to Society’Amid increasing worldwide initiatives to grant legal recognition to same-sex unions, the Vatican called on lawmakers to offer clear and emphatic opposition to such measures, which it said were contrary to human nature and ultimately harmful t

Report Details Decades of Abuse, Failure of Leadership’ in BostonA 91-page report detailing the sexual abuse of at least 789 children by 250 priests or other workers of the Archdiocese of Boston since 1940 documents a massive, inexcusable failure of leadership in the archdiocese, Massachusetts